Wild Horse
by Dawn-artist
Summary: Gladholion, the new stallion of the prince of Mirkwood, is a badly trained horse. Someone must teach him some manners, but how? And most importantly, who? LegolasOC.
1. Chapter 1: Runaway horse

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any piece of the wonderful world that Tolkien named Middle-Earth, none of the characters, places or names. Anything you recognize is not mine. All elvish (mainly sindarin) is from the site The council of Elrond. Don't steal my original characters, if you want to use them, ask first.** This and the following chapters have been slightly edited, but the plot remains unchanged.

**Wild horse**

**Chapter 1: Runaway horse.**

She walked down the line of boxes, checking every horse for signs of illness and that they were all were eating, as they should be. The stables of Mirkwood held many horses and the noise of them softly chewing the dry hay and the rustle they made as they shifted about was all she heard. The smell of hay, mixed with the sweet smell the horses gave of, made the crisp air heavy. She was the last of the stable crew to leave for the day, as every day.

She finished her round with checking that all the oil lamps were put out. The pale light flowing in through the windows was the only source of light and it was making wonderful shadows on the carved wood. The sun had set an hour ago, but it only being mid September, the blue light would not turn into darkness for another couple of hours. She could not help but smile; the world was at total peace.

She was just about to shut the big stable doors when she thought of something that made her smile turn into an angry frown. Gladholion was not making his usual racket. The new stallion of the prince had been nothing but trouble since the prince had brought him here a week ago, when he returned. She pushed the door open again and ran down the line, making a few horses lift their heads to see what was going on. When she stopped in front of the open half door, she found it not surprisingly empty.

"Where could he be this time?" she thought as she ran out of the stables. She found the hoof prints of the horse easily; the gravel covering the yard had been broomed after all the horses had been put in for the night. The happy hoof prints after the dancing horse made their way towards the open gate.

She followed the hoof prints out of the gate, along the road and then onto the lawn. Still the prints were as clear as day, it seemed as if the horse had taken of here, and galloped its way over the field, kicking up dirt in some places. The five other times the blasted horse had run of this week she had found him somewhere around here. Tonight she was left with no such luck, as the grey stallion was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh no..." she muttered as she saw where the tracks were headed, into the gardens surrounding the palace… Those gardens were certainly no place for a runaway horse; it could do severe damage to the beautiful lawns and carefully grown flowerbeds in only few minutes!

She now hated that horse dearly. Why could she not be allowed to teach it some manners, for it had none! Gladholion had been a gift from the Prince of Dol Amroth to the Prince of Mirkwood. "The horses of Dol Amroth must be mad," she thought as she made her way along the path leading into the Garden, still running.

When she entered the big open space in the middle of the garden, she saw clearly that the horse had been here. A couple of flowerbeds looked like a complete mess and the horse tracks in the soft turf were easy to spot. The horse had also managed leave a manure in the middle of the road.

"Guess who is going to have to pick that up," she groaned inside, knowing it to be herself. The track still kept on and on and when she saw where it was headed, she broke into a sprint.

The horse had of course found its way into the gardens of the Queen. They were said to be the most beautiful gardens in the whole Wood, and it did not make them more fitted for the horse if you added the fact that they belonged to the Queen. Now, where was that mad horse!

She found him all right, in the midst of a bed of blue flowers. As Gladholion heard her he stopped eating and lifted his large head to look at who was coming. He neighed. She put aside her anger, knowing she would never catch him if she seemed a threat. She put on her most welcoming body language and made her voice sugar sweet.

"Come here boy," she said softly as she started to approach the horse. It did not move, but continued to stare at her.

"Come here, you excuse of a horse that makes me run around after you when I should be at home eating dinner," she said, her voice still as sweet as ever, as she closed in on him. The horse only stared at her, but when she was only two meters away from him, he spun around on his hind legs and took of.

She cursed the horse and stayed where she was, until it stopped running. Then she approached Gladholion the same way as before and again, it ran away from her in a soft canter, as she was just about to catch it. Now, the proud stallion trotted over the small bridge leading over a pond and the stable girl followed. She took of her long woollen scarf and walked over the bridge. As she was on the middle of the fenceless bridge, Gladholion turned towards her.

"That's a good boy. Come here."

The horse came, but not in the way she expected. It sped up, running straight towards her. Not a single horse she had ever met had been so respect less against humans as Gladholion. Horses never run people down, only when they were cornered, and this one certainly wasn't. She still stood her ground, waving her arms like a madman. It did not help; the horse was not slowing down.

"Ey! Shhh! Go away!" she yelled, but to no use. The horse would not stop. When it was some meters before her, she had no choice and threw herself into the cold water.

OOO

Prince Legolas of Mirkwood looked up from his book when he heard yelling coming from the royal gardens. He put the book on the table and got up from the armchair, dressed in his usual royal robes. He walked out one of the large windows and straight into the garden. He could hear sounds of splashing water and started to jog along the path, wondering whatever this was. When he walked into the clearing, the first thing he saw was Gladholion, standing on the same side of the pond that Legolas currently was standing on. The horse neighed when he saw its master.

"Hey boy. What are you doing here?" he asked as he petted the horse on its soft neck. The horse naturally did not answer, but continued to look at the pond. Legolas now saw the reason. Crawling out of the pond was a very wet she elf, dressed in tunic and breeches. She raised herself from the water and brushed some dirt and leaves from herself. She turned towards the horse and when she saw someone petting it, she rolled her eyes.

"Hold that horse would you?" she said and she started to walk over to the couple. Legolas grabbed Gladholion's soft mane. She approached the horse and bound the scarf around its neck, while muttering soft curses.

"Why is he here at this hour?" asked Legolas. She had not recognized the elf before, but now she saw that he was the proud owner of the animal. And she had a couple of things to tell him too.

"He ran off, my prince, from the stables."

"You should not have let him." Legolas recognized her as on of the stable crew. "See what he has done to my mother's garden."

"I am sorry, my prince, it will not happen again I can assure you." As is; if she were not allowed by the Stable master to train this horse, it would continue to run of, searching for a mare every night. And now this seemed to be all her fault too. If he had not been the Prince, she would have told him a thing or two now.

"It better not," said Legolas as he stroked Gladholion's neck. "But I can understand that he manages, when the people who are to catch him, falls into a pond while running." She tightened her grip around her scarf, if the prince only knew what she wanted to say to him right now! Luckily for her, she only said some of it.

"I did not have much choice you see, as he was running straight towards me on the bridge."

"No you would not do that, would you boy?" said the prince as he petted the horse on the forehead and down to the muzzle.

"He would without a doubt in his mind," she muttered, just loud enough for Legolas to hear.

"Do not insult my horse; he is the best trained horse in the whole of Mirkwood." Now she was about to burst. That prince was just telling her that that spoiled brat of a horse was better trained than the well-mannered horses that took up the rest of the stable.

"Actually, he is not, my prince."

"Do not dare to speak against me again," the Prince threatened.

"Oh, I think I will, my Prince," said the dripping wet girl. "That horse has been nothing but trouble since you brought him back with you after the War of the Ring. He has run of every night and I am always the one to run after him. He has no manners what so ever, he steps on our toes, and he makes so much noise when he is inside that he upsets the other horses."

"Shut your mouth!" Legolas was the best rider in all of Mirkwood, he would not tolerate that some servant told him how to handle his horse.

"No! The only thing that horse has been learnt is how to be ridden and he is like a lamb whenever someone rides him. But all the rest of the time he is nothing short of a constant nuisance!" she shouted to the prince, straight up in his face.

"But-"

"No buts! That horse is a danger for others as long as he is like this. And because of you, my prince, I am not allowed to train him in natural horsemanship!"

"Why are you not allowed to train him then?" he shouted back.

"Because you told the Stable master that no one but yourself was to train any of your horses! You may be a good rider, but you have no idea how to handle him when you are not on his ba-" She suddenly shut up.

"I am glad you found it wise to keep your tongue behind your teeth, servant," spat Legolas. Never had a servant spoken to him in that way. "Now, take him back to the stables and come to my office in the morning." She did not reply, only kept looking over his shoulder.

Legolas turned and found both the king and the queen there.

"Mother. Father."

Behind him the girl bowed.

"What has happened here, Legolas?" asked king Thranduil.

"Gladholion merely broke out," answered Legolas.

"But we heard angry shouting all the way into our living room," said Queen Risíthil.

"We were arguing of whose fault it was that the horse broke out and ruined mother's garden."

"No, no, no," muttered the queen as she saw the damage done.

"Well," the king was speaking to the girl, "it could not have been my son's fault, for he was not in the stables, but in his room."

"It was not my fault either, my king," muttered the girl, looking at her wet boots. King Thranduil laughed at this.

"Then whose fault is it?"

"The ones who trained this horse, my king."

"Wouldn't that training be your responsibility?"

"She has already explained to me that I have told the stable master that no one but me should train my horses," Legolas said.

"Then it is your fault?" Thranduil turned to his son.

"No, father. It was a gift from Imrahil remember? I have never trained this horse."

"Well, no matter what, this horse does not belong in this garden. Legolas, follow the girl back down to the stables and see to that your horse is put away properly."

"Yes, father."

"Well, be of then!" the king said when none of the younger elves moved. The girl seemed to snap out it and clicked her tongue, making the horse follow her. The prince bid his mother and father good night before he ran after the retreating horse.

OOO

**A/N: **That was the first chapter. A bit short, I know. The next one is longer and more interesting, I promise. Just if you were wondering, this will not be a Mary-Sue.


	2. Chapter 2: Accept

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any piece of the wonderful world that Tolkien named Middle-Earth, none of the characters, places or names. Anything you recognize is not mine. All elvish (mainly sindarin) is from the site The council of Elrond. Don't steal my original characters, if you want to use them, ask first.** This and the following chapters have been slightly edited, but the plot is unchanged.

**Wild Horse**

**Chapter II: The borrowing of books.**

She heard the swish of his robes as he ran up behind her. What he heard was the 'skvulp skvulp' sound her flooded boots made for each step she took. The horse was not behaving one bit. He was trying to pull his head down to eat and it annoyed her. After just one lesson with her training, this horse would at least behave. But no...

She was so busy with the horse that she never saw it coming. But when her right foot came in contact with something soft and warm, she knew she had managed to step into the middle of the fresh horse manure.

"Bloody…" She groaned as the prince let out a small chuckle. She kept on walking.

"My prince, I am sure you can just go back now. There is really no need."

"I will see to that he is properly locked away."

End of discussion.

Now they were on the large lawn, leading to the road. Gladholion started to throw his head up and down; he wanted to run like he always did here. She held him firmly with only the scarf around the horse's neck.

"Why is he behaving like this?" she heard the prince ask.

"He is always," she tightened her grip on the scarf, "behaving like this, my prince."

"Not when I am riding him."

"He behaves like an angle whenever anyone is riding him," she replied quickly. "The only problem is that he has no respect for either me," she pushed the horse aside, "nor my toes, when I am on the ground."

"Let me hold him then."

"Fine by me, but not until we are safe behind the closed gate, my prince. I do not wish to run after him again." Did the prince actually think he was better with horses than her?

When Legolas closed the gate, the horse was safe inside, with no ways to escape.

"Hand me the rope," Legolas ordered.

"Now be careful," she said as she gave him the scarf. She went over to the half closed stable door she had run out of less than 15 minutes ago and pushed them wide open.

"Lead him in then."

Legolas clicked his tongue and the horse started moving forward. Then a horse inside neighed, and Gladholion jumped forward.

Legolas lost the scarf in the sudden move, for he had expected this to be easy, so he had not held onto the scarf very hard. Gladholion was now standing, hummering and whining with another horse. The girl was already at the horse's side and yanked the horny stallion away from the mare by his mane. She quickly led Gladholion away and to his own box. As she came to Gladholion's box, she rushed him inside, took the scarf of him and smacked the door shut behind her.

"Do you see why I want to train him now my prince?"

Legolas could only nod.

"He is the most beautiful horse I have ever seen," she said dreamy she looked at the now eating horse. "It would be a shame if he was not the best trained."

"Yes, it would."

"Will you allow me to train him?" the stable girl asked. Legolas did not reply, he merely continued to watch the beautiful animal.

Its coat was a dark grey, but it turned whiter and whiter after each year that passed. The big black eyes showed intelligence and the well-shaped muscles underneath showed strength. Strength he loved to feel as the proud animal galloped underneath him. Legolas was not too sure about letting other people handling the stallion. What if the horse only replied to them and not to him? What it they trained him wrong and Gladholion was to him useless afterwards? No, he would not start leaving responsibility to other people now, he had managed fine in the nearly three thousand years he had behind him. He had after all been able to ride Arod, the horse he was given of Eomer, without a saddle and a bridle, after only knowing the horse for less than five minutes.

"No, I will train him myself."

"Have you ever trained a horse before, my prince?"

"No, but it can not be too hard."

"What do you intend to do?"

"First I will teach him to respect me, and then to respect others."

"How do you intend to do that then, my prince?" Legolas was starting to feel that it might be a hint of mirth in her voice.

"Err…the normal way?"

"You have no idea, have you?"

"Well, he is not too ill mannered. With a few minutes each day I am sure he will be superb in no time." Now she actually laughed.

"Come here and let me show you something." He followed her some boxes down till they stopped outside a box that held a red horse.

"This is Carnil," she said as she opened the door. As she approached the horse that had now lifted its head, she continued to tell Legolas about it.

"He is a stallion and five years old, just as Gladholion is. But that is the _only_ thing they have in common," she said as she stroked Carnil lovingly over his neck to greet him.

Then she positioned herself just ahead of the horse. When she walked out of the box the horse followed, no rope, no nothing. The horse kept at her right side, its head slightly behind her. As she suddenly stopped, the horse did at the exact same moment, its head did not move in front of her. The mare that had greeted Gladholion started to neigh again, but this stallion took no notice. They now stood in the middle of the stable and she made the stallion back up, follow her in every direction, and go in circle as it only moved its hind legs, before she lead the horse back in to its food.

"Do you know how to train a horse that way?" she asked as she secured the door.

"No. But that horse was very well trained, you can not expect every horse to do that."

"Every horse in these stables can do the exact same thing, just not Gladholion." This made Legolas rethink his planned answer.

"I really want to be one with that horse, if you know what I mean," said Legolas after that they had walked back to Gladholion. "I want him to see me as his master, not just his rider."

"Now you are talking sense. Do you know how to reach that goal then?"

"No." Now came the moment of embarrassing silence. Legolas cleared his throat and crossed his arm as he waited for her to say something.

"I can borrow you some books for a start," she said.

"That would be nice." He smiled politely at her.

"You can come home with me now and get them if you like, my prince."

"Tonight? Is that really necessary?"

"If we, sorry, you, do not start training him tomorrow, he will run of tomorrow too, and I do not feel like having this night repeated," she gestured towards her wet self and her dirty boot, "do you?"

"I will follow you home then. Is it a long walk?"

"About 20 minutes. Do you agree that he is safely put away?" she was referring to Gladholion.

"Yes. Shall we go?"

They walked out and closed the stable doors. Legolas followed her without a word as she rounded the corner of the stable and climbed over the fence. He had to gather his royal dark green robes in his hands to climb over the fence. She was waiting for him at the edge of the forest, at what looked to be the beginning of a trail into the forest.

"Do you need any help, my prince?" she asked as she saw how he had a problem keeping balanced in his sandals as he was trying to swing his foot over the fence.

"No, I will manage," he jumped down, "see?"

"Should we continue, my prince?"

"Lead the way."

The path was narrow so Legolas walked behind her. They walked in silence as the darkness started to gather under the old trees. Evening was turning into night and when Legolas looked up through the branches he could see dark clouds gathering.

"Rain is coming," he thought. He hoped he was well back in the palace by that time.

"Here we are," she said as they could start to make out the small cottage among the trees. Many of the wood elves had moved out of the caves after the forest of Mirkwood had been rid of its evil after the fall of Sauron. Mirkwood had been renamed Eryn Lasgalen, Greenwood, but no one used that name. Mirkwood would always remain Mirkwood. Not in a negative way, but darkness is not always evil.

The cottage was built in between two trees; it had a small window in the front, together with the door. It was in usual elven style, the paved roof, and the elegant walls with pillars on the corners and in the doorframe. Legolas guessed it to be as large as half of his chambers.

She opened the unlocked door and stepped aside so that he could enter. He walked in and when she closed the door behind them both, it left the room darkness. She lit a candle and it lightened the room so little that he could only see outlines of a table, some chairs and a fireplace. The room was as cold as the evening outside.

"Oh no," she said as she ran over and closed a window that was not visible form the front. "I sometimes forget to close it. Shall I light a fire, my prince, your robes does not look to warm."

"If you just will find me the books, I will be on my way."

"Of course." She took the candle she had placed on the table and walked over to a small shelf. He could see the backs of many books.

"...The training of the new born foal...food for all horses... the races of Middle-Earth...of Oromë and Nahar...ah, here is one you will need, Natural Horsemanship." She gave him a heavy, well-used book. "And this, Problem Solving. And this," another book, "and this, and this." She looked through the rest of the books, murmuring the titles as she did.

"That is all I think," she said as she got up, "for now. Read first Natural Horsemanship, the first one I gave you, or else you will understand little of the others."

"Thank you, they will be returned as soon as I am done with them."

"There is no hurry; I know them almost by word. And if there is anything you do not understand you can always come down to the stable to ask, my prince."

"I will. Now I will be on my way." His arms were filled with books so she opened the door for him. They found it to be raining heavily outside.

"Do you have a raincoat I can borrow?" Legolas asked. A look of horror crossed her features.

"I am so sorry, my prince, but I don't. I wore it on my way to the stables this morning and I forgot it there."

"I will just have to manage," he said as he stepped out in the rain. He walked a couple of steps, before he heard her offer to stay for the night.

"I will be fine," he called out over his shoulder.

"You will ruin your robes and your shoes, "she paused, "and my books." He stopped, feeling the mud through his sandals. He walked up back to the entrance, where she was waiting.

"By second thought, I will accept your offer." She stepped aside and let him in.

OOO

**A/N: **Another chapter. Hope you liked it. The next chapter will be up tomorrow, I think, I am on summer holidays so I have lots of time to write. Please review, I would love to know what people think.

First thank you so much too my reviewers.

**Mehagles:** Thank you so much, my first reviewer! I will send you the first two chapters. Glad you liked it. Hope you come back to read more.

**Lil girl lost:** Thank you so much for your review. I had hoofprints in my handwritten version, must have forgotten it when I printed in on the computer. Thanks for letting me know.

**Almost funny:** First of all, thank you for your review. I hope it turn out to be a good story, I have most of the main story line in my sketch book... I will finish the story. Hope you come back to read more.

**Archer777:** Thank you for your review. I want it to be cute, but not Mary- sueish (if that is a word). Hope you come back to read more.

Now I thought I might let you in on what some of the names means. They are both from the sindarin name finder at the site "The council of Elrond".

Gladholion: he laughs (I found that rather fitting).

Rísithil (Legolas´ mother): queen of the moon.

And yes there is a reason we don't know the stable girl's name yet. I thought it would be natural that the royal family doesn't know the names of the servants. But don't worry; the name comes in the next chapter…


	3. Chapter 3: Worth a pillow

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any piece of the wonderful world that Tolkien named Middle-Earth, none of the characters, places or names. Anything you recognize is not mine. All elvish (mainly sindarin) is from the site "The council of Elrond". Don't steal my original characters, if you want to use them, ask first.** This and the following chapters have been slightly edited, but the plot is unchanged.

**Wild Horse**

**Chapter IV: Two sets of mornings**

As Legolas woke the next morning, he had no idea where he was. He had lain half awake for some minutes while staring at the roof, till it hit him that this was not his roof. He sat up, slightly panicking, but he saw his muddy sandals he remembered everything about last night, Mudolwen and the rain. He heard the crackling fire, so the she-elf had to be up.

Legolas dressed and ventured into the living room, which he found empty. So were all the other rooms he discovered. There was no note saying where Mudolwen might be so he guessed the servant had had to go to work. The table was set for breakfast for two, but he would eat back at the palace. He gathered the books and headed for the door, just as she entered.

"Oh, good morning, my prince, I was just about to wake you! I hope you have had a good night's sleep?"

"Yes, I have. Where have you been?"

"Me? Just outside collecting eggs from the hens and the bottle from the milkman, my prince." She showed him a basket with four eggs and a bottle. "Were you leaving?" she asked as she saw the books in his arms.

"Yes, because I could not find you anywhere. I thought you had gone to work."

"No, I don't start until 7.30 so I still have 20 minutes before I have to go, my prince. Shall we eat?"

"Yes." Legolas didn't want to seem impolite. "What can you offer?"

"Let's see…boiled eggs, milk, butter, cheese, bread and tea. Will it do?"

"It will do just nicely. Is there any place I can refresh myself before we eat?" He had not seen a bathroom when he had searched the house for her.

"You just go out the door and round the corner to the left. There you will find a basin of fresh water you can use," she said as she cut the bread. Legolas had been thinking more in the lines of a bath, but he had no plan in telling her that. Either way she seemed to have guessed his desires for she asked "You were thinking of a bath were you not?" He nodded.

"Sorry, but I do not have one, my prince. I use the public baths in the caves, I only have the most essential here. The lavatory is in the edge of the forest behind the house if you need it. Again, I am so sorry for the inconvenience, my prince." He smiled the most polite smile he could conjure so early in the morning.

"It will just have to do."

Legolas walked outside and relieved himself first. The ice-cold water from the basin felt as if it was too peel the skin off his face when he washed his face. When his hands were clean and his hair was done, he went inside again. Warm tea was luckily waiting for him.

"The bread may be some days old, my prince, but other than that, there is nothing wrong with it," she said as she put a small basket with bread down in front of him. Then he noticed that she had no tea, even if she had drunk several cups last night. She let out a short laugh when he pointed it out.

"I just forgot to boil up enough water for two, my prince. Usually it is only me."

"Have you always lived alone?" he asked as he helped himself for a slice of bread.

"No, I have not. Idhreneth, the one who wrote the greeting in the book remember," he nodded, "we lived together before she got married two years ago. We were the only females working in the stables, and also very good friends."

"Have you always lived here then?"

"No, I used to live back at the caves. I moved out here last spring, when the forest was cleansed." He nodded approvingly while he tried to figure out what to put on the bread. Jam or cheese? Cheese or jam?

"It is so wonderful to see how much it has changed," he said, "and still changing. When I came back a week ago I nearly could not believe it to be the same. There were birds in the trees, along with squirrels and I saw a deer some days ago! No longer do we need to trust from supplies from Esgaroth."

In the dark years not much had grown in Mirkwood, so they had used much gold to buy food supplies from the men living in Lake Town.

"I know what you mean," she said. "The horses have gotten in a better mood, and the foals we had this summer has grown faster than in any other year I can remember." Legolas started to notice that whatever the stable girl was talking about; it nearly always had, in one way or another, something to do with horses.

They ate in silence, she dug in, but Legolas only took one slice of bread. It was hard and quite dry, (but the strawberry jam was good) so he decided to save his appetite for the fresh bread that was waiting for him back at the palace. He finished the tea while she cleared off the table.

She laid an apple, a few slices of bread, a boiled egg and some cheese on a cloth and tied it shut. She helped him carry the books as they made their path back to the stable. The chirping birds were the only ones who saw them this early morning on their way through the forest. When they reached the stables, none of the other workers had come yet.

"When will you come today, my Prince?" she asked.

"Come?"

"To start the training? If we don't start today Gladholion will run off again." She wondered if he had believed that the horse would train himself.

"Then I will train him today, but what business is that of yours?"

"I ask of you to let me train him this first time, my prince. He will only become worse if he is trained by one who doubts what he does."

"I do not doubt myself!"

"I did not say that, my Prince, but after all the things I told you last night about training horses, do you think you can train him without ever even witnessing the training of a horse before, without finishing your first book on the subject?" Legolas saw her reasoning, but still felt the need to growl at her.

"Alright, you are allowed to train him. But I would like to be there, so that I can learn how to train him myself."

"I did not expect anything else, my prince. Is it alright if you come down here around half past eleven?"

"No problem." The only other plan that Legolas had for this day was to practice archery with his cousin and some other friends, so he could do as he wished the rest of the day.

"Good. See you then my Prince, good day." She bowed shortly.

"Good day." He was about to walk out the gate when she called him back.

"Ey! My Prince, you forgot your books!" She ran over to where he had stopped and placed the books she had carried in his arms. "Try to read as much as you can of the first one before we meet again, or else you will not understand all the things I do."

"I will see what I can do. Good day."

"Good day, my Prince," she said with another small bow.

As Legolas walked towards the palace, he knew that there would be no archery before after half past eleven. The book was thick and he knew that if he was to understand anything of what Mudolwen did without her explanations along the way, he had a whole lot of reading to do before their meeting.

While Legolas walked beneath the weight of all the books back to the castle, Mudolwen skipped over to the stable. You could nearly believe she had springs under her feet from how she walked as she fed the 26 hungry horses together with Turgon. The stable they worked in was the stable of the nobles, which would say the king, his family and their relatives had their horses here.

Mudolwen was very proud over the fact that she was working here. Well, technically she was not working here; she was yet a trainee to become the new Rider of the Wood. Every now and then (A/N: thinking in years here) Serondrych, the stable master, would pick one rider from one of the public stables to be a trainee for the next two years, before taking the test to see if he, or she, had enough experience to step into the lines of the Riders. She remembered all the hard work she had done to impress her former stable master to make him recommend her to Serondrych. The day she had been picked had been some of the happiest days of her life. And now she was training the horse of the Prince, the most beautiful horse in the Wood!

But the rest of the work was not so exiting. While she had been working at the public stable she was one of those who did the most riding and the least cleaning and feeding, here it was the exact opposite. She did all the dirty work and had hated it at first. But then she understood the meaning. The fact that she fed and groomed the horses everyday brought a bond, a feeling she only had had with a few horses before. She understood why the Riders became as talented as they were with the animals, for they had gone through the same that she was going through now, being around the horses, making them as comfortable as possible 24 hour a day. The horses trusted her and they were glad to see her every time, every horse but Gladholion. She hoped that would change before the end of the week.

But there was no left time to think about her happy history as she was humming to herself while measuring the different meals for every horse. They had all gotten their hay, now it was time for a mix of oats, barley, corn and different weeds to each horse, widely called concentrates. The list on the wall told her what every horse should have.

Turgon walked into the room at that moment. He was the newest Rider of the Wood and therefore set to train her, such as the tradition was.

"I noticed that Nimpien's coat was not as it should be. It seemed too..." Turgon failed find a fitting word.

"Yes, I know what you mean. It was not shining as usual," Mudolwen answered.

Nimpien, or just Nimp for short, was the mare of the Queen. She was pale white and quite old, even for an Elvish horse.

"What would you do to make it better?" he asked Mudolwen. This was one of the usual tests she had to pass throughout the day. Turgon of course knew the answer, but that was not the point, which was to make Mudolwen learn everything there was to know about horses.

"I would give her linseeds to make the fur seem more glistening. The fact that the fur is like this can be a sign that the digestion system is not working as it should be. When I noticed I checked her manure and was more moist than usual."

"Correct and well noticed. How much and for how long would you give her linseeds?"

"Three tablespoons once a day, preferably together with the evening meal for a...week?"

"Correct again. Since she is so old she will need it for a week, a younger horse would have managed with three days. Last, is anything special needed to be done with linseeds before you give them to her?"

"Boil them for 20 minutes and then let them soak in cold water for about 12 hours."

"Very good, Mudolwen. Prepare it after you have finished with feeding, then come and help me with the broken wagon, alright?"

"See you in half an hour, slave driver." She could hear his laugh echoing through the hall as he walked to the wagon shed. She finished her work and left the horses to eat in peace.

When the linseeds were soaking in the cold water, she went to check what else there was to be done today. She, as always was to groom all the horses (not the ones the other Riders were training, they did that themselves), and that left about 20 horses, just for her and she were to clean out all the 26 stalls. Then some of the horses had to be put out in paddocks and those who for some reason could not be properly trained, she had to take a walk with. She had riding lessons with one of the Riders in the afternoon, so she always had enough to do.

Then it always ended with her and some others (usually Turgon) were left to polish the saddles, bridles and all the other leather at the end of the day, before she did the last feeding with Turgon. She could not wait to begin the day!

Legolas' morning was quite different. When he entered the dining room, after taking a quick bath and changing his clothes, he did not expect everyone to look so shocked.

"Where have you been?" his mother asked as she got up and went over to hug him. "Are you alright?"

"What do you mean? Of course I am alright!" Why would he not be?

"But you didn't come back last night. We were worried."

"Are you saying that you were worried, Naneth, when your three thousand year old son, who has been out ever so often and has just come from war, was not in his bed?" he kissed his mother on the cheeks. "And did you actually check my room?" he laughed.

"Yes, I did. I guess you are right; there is no need for me to worry. I cannot help myself sometimes."

"Yes, let us hope you illness passes," it came from Thranduil, sitting at the high seat of the table. "Now sit down, son."

"Yes, Ada," replied Legolas and sat down.

"Where did you sleep tonight?" Thranduil asked.

"At the house of the stable girl you met in the garden." This caused the entire table of royals to choke whatever they were eating or drinking.

Legolas had to tell his cousin, aunts and uncles, mother and father about the pervious evening, the night and the morning. They laughed when he told about the dirty chair, the dry bread and the fact that she did not have a bathroom.

"I am meeting her half past eleven so I must go and prepare myself," he finished the story off with.

"Meeting her?" asked his cousin Gelir. "Why?"

"To train Gladholion, of course!"

"Seriously, a stable girl? I thought only the Riders trained the horses."

"Well, she offered to train him and I am sure she will let me participate much more than the Riders anyway. Well, I must be of; I have a whole book to finish. Good day to you all."

Legolas heard good days being mumbled around the table as he left. He went straight for his room, folded up on the right page and sat down to read in his favourite green armchair.

Mudolwen was planning to train Gladholion during lunch break. This meant no eating for her part, but she could just eat later if she had nothing to do.

"Fat chance," she mumbled as she led Carnil back into his stall. She had not told any of the riders, not even Turgon about her deal with the Prince, knowing that they would like to take over the training. Something they could actually do, if the Prince did not insist on her doing it. Knowing he would never do that, she hoped she would impress him today with her way with horses. As long as she stayed focused on Gladholion and not on impressing the Prince she knew she would succeed.

Just now, she was finishing the last horse to be groomed. She put the brushes and all the other things she had used such as halters back where it belonged. She and Turgon had finished on the wagon just as the riders had started arriving, so now many of the horses were outside being trained and some were on their way out, some on their way in.

Her job this time of day was to saddle up the horses of the royals that would come for a ride. Just at this day, only the two grown children of the brother of the Queen came, but she noticed them staring at her more than usual. After she had given them their horses and seen them of, she was sick of their laughter and whispering, so when she laid the brushes back in place, she might have laid them a bit hard. Alright, she threw them in the wall. Turgon walked in to the equipment room just as she did this.

"Ey, what is wrong with you? Stop making such a racket!" he scolded. She sighed and picked up the brushes.

"Sorry, I did not mean to."

"Is something the matter that needs my attention?" he enquired.

"Some of the royals laughed of me again. That has not happened in a long time now."

"Did you do something wrong?" She put the brushes back in the basket then turned towards him.

"No, I did not." The first weeks she had been here she had been so nervous around the royals that she had done many silly mistakes. Like saddling up the wrong horse, forgetting to take down the stirrups for them and not holding the horse till they were safe upon it. This was because she was not used to the manners of the royals, for it was much different from the public stable. But that had changed, the year she had spent here had managed to get her used to it, and now she was not even nervous to do mistakes when the king asked for his horse to be sent up to the palace.

"They just laughed?" he asked, a smile starting to form on his face

"Mainly, yes," she answered, sounding as if she were to give up.

"Well, I can see why." Now her face was a big frown, for his tone was to unserious

"Why? Do I have something in my face or?" The elf started laughing. "What Turgon?"

"Your looks are laughable, it is just that." she put her head in her hands, why was he never serious when she wanted him to be?

"Please stop the joking; I am not in the mood."

"Oh, but I am."

"You should not be."

"I am the one telling you what to do, remember?"

"Yes, Turgon. Now will you tell me why they laughed?"

"Actually, I don't know, they must be insane." Then he walked out of the door, only to reappear a few seconds later. "And by the way, did Gladholion run of last night?" Now he was back to horse-mode, meaning serious-mode.

"Yes, he did." And at that moment she remembered some horse manure in the middle of a garden. "Oh no," she groaned.

"What?" Turgon was busy taking down the saddle and the bridle of the next horse he was to train.

"Nothing, I just forgot something that I have to go and do." She walked past him, "And don't worry, it is work."

"Ok, but be back in quarter. I need you to start painting the wagon."

"Fine."

Mudolwen picked up a spade and put it in a trolley and made her way towards the gardens. She hoped that there would not be too many people there. Her wish was granted. There were only a few seated on the benches and others walking past her, not even wasting a look on her.

When she came to the place where the "incidence" had taken place and started to remove the manure with her own footprint in, it was the time two of the royal ladies decided to walk by. This caused them to have to lift their skirts up high and dramatically jumping over that part of the road, even if they easily could have walked next to it. Mudolwen stepped aside as they passed, and also these royals looked at her and laughed, whispering things as they walked away.

"There must have been some disease that makes you laugh because of stable girls raging up at the palace," she thought as she walked back to the waiting wagon.

OOO

Legolas had skimmed through the whole book now. He only remembered half of it, but Mudolwen could not say that he had not read it. He had gotten the main points and knew more or less what Mudolwen was to try to do today. She would first make the animal except that she was the boss and in that case make the horse trust her. He sat out on the balcony now trying to remember all she had said to him the previous night. Just then there was a nock on his door.

"Come in!" he called. His mother, Queen Rísithil, walked in.

"Naneth, what are you doing here?" She never came to see him like this. Well, at least she had not done so since his early childhood.

"Just wanted to talk to my only child, is that also wrong now?"

"No, I am just surprised to see you that is all. Come and sit," he went to meet her and pulled out a chair for her and then sat back down in his own, facing her.

"It is so good to have you home, Legolas," she said.

"You must have said that about a thousand times on these seven days, you are aware of that?"

"Yes, but it is only because we missed you so. Now, I want to talk to you about a matter that becomes more pressing and you can not avoid it much longer."

"The marriage part I guess." Legolas stared down at the page in the book as he spoke.

"Yes. I was wondering, because I have not asked you in a long time, but, eh, how to put this...?"

"You are wondering if I-"

"Yes. Fitting company."

"No, I have not company, Naneth. I know I used too, but it did not work out."

"Did you see no ladies in Rivendell or Lothlorien that fitted?"

"Naneth, those were times of war, and I had no time to think about matters of the heart."

"So on this year that you have been away, there has been no one?"

"The closest I have been to a she-elf this last year is the stable girl I slept at tonight. So no, there has been no one."

"Closest! Legolas are you saying that you are...seeing a stable girl!"

"No, of course not! For the sake of the Valar, it was just a way of saying that I have not," at this he felt pretty embarrassed, "had any intimacy with anyone. In a long time…" The embarrassing silence that developed showed just how unusual this sort of conversation was in the royal families.

"I see. Well, you still have time before your father will have to do something about the matter." At this, when she saw the angry look forming on her son's face, there was a sudden change of subject. "Excuse me for being so curious, but what did you and that stable girl talk about?"

"Horses mostly. She borrowed me these books too, to help me train Gladholion." He motioned for the books lying on his desk. The Queen got up and read the titles out loud.

"And I expect you to have thanked her for this? This is her private property." Legolas made a face to his mothers back. When he did not answer she turned.

"You did not thank her?" Oh, Legolas knew he was in trouble.

"No."

"Did you thank her for your stay then?" Yes, Naneth was going to be angry.

"No."

"Have I never taught you any manners?" her voice was strict and her eyebrows knitted.

"Yes, but I simply forgot. It is just a servant."

"She is a servant yes, but not when not at work. Then she is a person with her own life."

"I will say thank you when I see her! Naneth, I am sorry," he got up and walked toward her.

"I hope this was not the way you treated the peoples of Middle-Earth on your journey. They do not think of the Mirkwood elves as arrogant and impolite now, do they?"

"I swear they do not. Now I have to go and meet Mudolwen, I will not have her waiting for me, making me more impolite than I already am."

"That is the way, Legolas, but remember, she is now your servant. Still I want you to find her a gift as a thank you for your stay, but give her it when she is of duty. We must think of our reputation, you know."

"As you wish Naneth. Now I have to dress, so if you will excuse me."

"Good luck with the training, Ion. Good day." His mother left.

Legolas quickly undressed and put on breeches and tunic. He felt better immediately. Then it was the present. He had no time to buy anything, so he just had to take something from his room.

A book? No she seemed to have enough of those. A piece of jewellery was too much. Ah, he knew it, a quill! He had been given so many through the years, with different houses emblem engraved. He looked through the drawers till he found one from King Eomer of Rohan. It had horse motives and the sun engraved.

"Fits perfectly," he thought and with that in his hands he walked through the gardens and over to the stables.

OOO

**A/N: **At first I had thought that this chapter would have the first training in it, but it turned out with much more "stuff" than I had expected and it seemed right to cut it here. The training comes in the next chapter don't worry. Next, here come the names and meanings on some of the characters.

Mudolwen: working maiden

Nimpien: pale white (the queen's horse).

Turgon: commander of power

Serondrych: lover of horses (Stable master).

Carnil: name of the planet Mars in Quenya. The horse is called so because he is red (Mars is red, just if you did not know that, something I am sure you did).

Idhreneth: thoughtful maiden (friend in Valinor).

Gelir: happy person (Legolas cousin).

Last, but not least, there is some sindarin (elvish) in here. Ada(r) means father, Naneth means mother, Ion means son.

I had never thought anyone would review this little fantasy mumbo jumbo of mine, but hey, some even come back to read more. Then another thing, yes, they do have watches in Middle-Earth. I don't mean like hand watches, but big things (clocks) that stand into a wall or on a mantelpiece. Tolkien says that Bilbo has a clock on the mantelpiece in The Hobbit, so let's agree with him, shall we? And also, yes, I know some of the chapters have names and some doesn't. That is just the way things are.

And then, I need your help. What are the covers that you put on a horse when it is cold in the winter or the horse is sweat (I know these are two totally different covers)? What is the name of that? I only know what all these horse things are in my native tongue, so I have a hard time finding out what they are in English. If YOU happen to know what for example the different parts of a bridle and a saddle is called, or the different brushes you use to brush a horse with etc, etc, please mail me! None of these words are in my dictionary so please help!

I start school next week and I am moving this weekend, so I have no idea when the next chapter is up. Just as you know, I will finish this gory story, no matter what. See you next time and please review. Sayonara.


	4. Chapter 4: Two different mornings

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any piece of the wonderful world that Tolkien named Middle-Earth, none of the characters, places or names. Anything you recognize is not mine. All elvish (mainly sindarin) is from the site "The council of Elrond". Don't steal my original characters, if you want to use them, ask first.** This and the following chapters have been slightly edited, but the plot is unchanged.

**Wild Horse**

**Chapter IV: Two sets of mornings**

As Legolas woke the next morning, he had no idea where he was. He had lain half awake for some minutes while staring at the roof, till it hit him that this was not his roof. He sat up, slightly panicking, but he saw his muddy sandals he remembered everything about last night, Mudolwen and the rain. He heard the crackling fire, so the she-elf had to be up.

Legolas dressed and ventured into the living room, which he found empty. So were all the other rooms he discovered. There was no note saying where Mudolwen might be so he guessed the servant had had to go to work. The table was set for breakfast for two, but he would eat back at the palace. He gathered the books and headed for the door, just as she entered.

"Oh, good morning, my prince, I was just about to wake you! I hope you have had a good night's sleep?"

"Yes, I have. Where have you been?"

"Me? Just outside collecting eggs from the hens and the bottle from the milkman, my prince." She showed him a basket with four eggs and a bottle. "Were you leaving?" she asked as she saw the books in his arms.

"Yes, because I could not find you anywhere. I thought you had gone to work."

"No, I don't start until 7.30 so I still have 20 minutes before I have to go, my prince. Shall we eat?"

"Yes." Legolas didn't want to seem impolite. "What can you offer?"

"Let's see…boiled eggs, milk, butter, cheese, bread and tea. Will it do?"

"It will do just nicely. Is there any place I can refresh myself before we eat?" He had not seen a bathroom when he had searched the house for her.

"You just go out the door and round the corner to the left. There you will find a basin of fresh water you can use," she said as she cut the bread. Legolas had been thinking more in the lines of a bath, but he had no plan in telling her that. Either way she seemed to have guessed his desires for she asked "You were thinking of a bath were you not?" He nodded.

"Sorry, but I do not have one, my prince. I use the public baths in the caves, I only have the most essential here. The lavatory is in the edge of the forest behind the house if you need it. Again, I am so sorry for the inconvenience, my prince." He smiled the most polite smile he could conjure so early in the morning.

"It will just have to do."

Legolas walked outside and relieved himself first. The ice-cold water from the basin felt as if it was too peel the skin off his face when he washed his face. When his hands were clean and his hair was done, he went inside again. Warm tea was luckily waiting for him.

"The bread may be some days old, my prince, but other than that, there is nothing wrong with it," she said as she put a small basket with bread down in front of him. Then he noticed that she had no tea, even if she had drunk several cups last night. She let out a short laugh when he pointed it out.

"I just forgot to boil up enough water for two, my prince. Usually it is only me."

"Have you always lived alone?" he asked as he helped himself for a slice of bread.

"No, I have not. Idhreneth, the one who wrote the greeting in the book remember," he nodded, "we lived together before she got married two years ago. We were the only females working in the stables, and also very good friends."

"Have you always lived here then?"

"No, I used to live back at the caves. I moved out here last spring, when the forest was cleansed." He nodded approvingly while he tried to figure out what to put on the bread. Jam or cheese? Cheese or jam?

"It is so wonderful to see how much it has changed," he said, "and still changing. When I came back a week ago I nearly could not believe it to be the same. There were birds in the trees, along with squirrels and I saw a deer some days ago! No longer do we need to trust from supplies from Esgaroth."

In the dark years not much had grown in Mirkwood, so they had used much gold to buy food supplies from the men living in Lake Town.

"I know what you mean," she said. "The horses have gotten in a better mood, and the foals we had this summer has grown faster than in any other year I can remember." Legolas started to notice that whatever the stable girl was talking about; it nearly always had, in one way or another, something to do with horses.

They ate in silence, she dug in, but Legolas only took one slice of bread. It was hard and quite dry, (but the strawberry jam was good) so he decided to save his appetite for the fresh bread that was waiting for him back at the palace. He finished the tea while she cleared off the table.

She laid an apple, a few slices of bread, a boiled egg and some cheese on a cloth and tied it shut. She helped him carry the books as they made their path back to the stable. The chirping birds were the only ones who saw them this early morning on their way through the forest. When they reached the stables, none of the other workers had come yet.

"When will you come today, my Prince?" she asked.

"Come?"

"To start the training? If we don't start today Gladholion will run off again." She wondered if he had believed that the horse would train himself.

"Then I will train him today, but what business is that of yours?"

"I ask of you to let me train him this first time, my prince. He will only become worse if he is trained by one who doubts what he does."

"I do not doubt myself!"

"I did not say that, my Prince, but after all the things I told you last night about training horses, do you think you can train him without ever even witnessing the training of a horse before, without finishing your first book on the subject?" Legolas saw her reasoning, but still felt the need to growl at her.

"Alright, you are allowed to train him. But I would like to be there, so that I can learn how to train him myself."

"I did not expect anything else, my prince. Is it alright if you come down here around half past eleven?"

"No problem." The only other plan that Legolas had for this day was to practice archery with his cousin and some other friends, so he could do as he wished the rest of the day.

"Good. See you then my Prince, good day." She bowed shortly.

"Good day." He was about to walk out the gate when she called him back.

"Ey! My Prince, you forgot your books!" She ran over to where he had stopped and placed the books she had carried in his arms. "Try to read as much as you can of the first one before we meet again, or else you will not understand all the things I do."

"I will see what I can do. Good day."

"Good day, my Prince," she said with another small bow.

As Legolas walked towards the palace, he knew that there would be no archery before after half past eleven. The book was thick and he knew that if he was to understand anything of what Mudolwen did without her explanations along the way, he had a whole lot of reading to do before their meeting.

While Legolas walked beneath the weight of all the books back to the castle, Mudolwen skipped over to the stable. You could nearly believe she had springs under her feet from how she walked as she fed the 26 hungry horses together with Turgon. The stable they worked in was the stable of the nobles, which would say the king, his family and their relatives had their horses here.

Mudolwen was very proud over the fact that she was working here. Well, technically she was not working here; she was yet a trainee to become the new Rider of the Wood. Every now and then (A/N: thinking in years here) Serondrych, the stable master, would pick one rider from one of the public stables to be a trainee for the next two years, before taking the test to see if he, or she, had enough experience to step into the lines of the Riders. She remembered all the hard work she had done to impress her former stable master to make him recommend her to Serondrych. The day she had been picked had been some of the happiest days of her life. And now she was training the horse of the Prince, the most beautiful horse in the Wood!

But the rest of the work was not so exiting. While she had been working at the public stable she was one of those who did the most riding and the least cleaning and feeding, here it was the exact opposite. She did all the dirty work and had hated it at first. But then she understood the meaning. The fact that she fed and groomed the horses everyday brought a bond, a feeling she only had had with a few horses before. She understood why the Riders became as talented as they were with the animals, for they had gone through the same that she was going through now, being around the horses, making them as comfortable as possible 24 hour a day. The horses trusted her and they were glad to see her every time, every horse but Gladholion. She hoped that would change before the end of the week.

But there was no left time to think about her happy history as she was humming to herself while measuring the different meals for every horse. They had all gotten their hay, now it was time for a mix of oats, barley, corn and different weeds to each horse, widely called concentrates. The list on the wall told her what every horse should have.

Turgon walked into the room at that moment. He was the newest Rider of the Wood and therefore set to train her, such as the tradition was.

"I noticed that Nimpien's coat was not as it should be. It seemed too..." Turgon failed find a fitting word.

"Yes, I know what you mean. It was not shining as usual," Mudolwen answered.

Nimpien, or just Nimp for short, was the mare of the Queen. She was pale white and quite old, even for an Elvish horse.

"What would you do to make it better?" he asked Mudolwen. This was one of the usual tests she had to pass throughout the day. Turgon of course knew the answer, but that was not the point, which was to make Mudolwen learn everything there was to know about horses.

"I would give her linseeds to make the fur seem more glistening. The fact that the fur is like this can be a sign that the digestion system is not working as it should be. When I noticed I checked her manure and was more moist than usual."

"Correct and well noticed. How much and for how long would you give her linseeds?"

"Three tablespoons once a day, preferably together with the evening meal for a...week?"

"Correct again. Since she is so old she will need it for a week, a younger horse would have managed with three days. Last, is anything special needed to be done with linseeds before you give them to her?"

"Boil them for 20 minutes and then let them soak in cold water for about 12 hours."

"Very good, Mudolwen. Prepare it after you have finished with feeding, then come and help me with the broken wagon, alright?"

"See you in half an hour, slave driver." She could hear his laugh echoing through the hall as he walked to the wagon shed. She finished her work and left the horses to eat in peace.

When the linseeds were soaking in the cold water, she went to check what else there was to be done today. She, as always was to groom all the horses (not the ones the other Riders were training, they did that themselves), and that left about 20 horses, just for her and she were to clean out all the 26 stalls. Then some of the horses had to be put out in paddocks and those who for some reason could not be properly trained, she had to take a walk with. She had riding lessons with one of the Riders in the afternoon, so she always had enough to do.

Then it always ended with her and some others (usually Turgon) were left to polish the saddles, bridles and all the other leather at the end of the day, before she did the last feeding with Turgon. She could not wait to begin the day!

Legolas' morning was quite different. When he entered the dining room, after taking a quick bath and changing his clothes, he did not expect everyone to look so shocked.

"Where have you been?" his mother asked as she got up and went over to hug him. "Are you alright?"

"What do you mean? Of course I am alright!" Why would he not be?

"But you didn't come back last night. We were worried."

"Are you saying that you were worried, Naneth, when your three thousand year old son, who has been out ever so often and has just come from war, was not in his bed?" he kissed his mother on the cheeks. "And did you actually check my room?" he laughed.

"Yes, I did. I guess you are right; there is no need for me to worry. I cannot help myself sometimes."

"Yes, let us hope you illness passes," it came from Thranduil, sitting at the high seat of the table. "Now sit down, son."

"Yes, Ada," replied Legolas and sat down.

"Where did you sleep tonight?" Thranduil asked.

"At the house of the stable girl you met in the garden." This caused the entire table of royals to choke whatever they were eating or drinking.

Legolas had to tell his cousin, aunts and uncles, mother and father about the pervious evening, the night and the morning. They laughed when he told about the dirty chair, the dry bread and the fact that she did not have a bathroom.

"I am meeting her half past eleven so I must go and prepare myself," he finished the story off with.

"Meeting her?" asked his cousin Gelir. "Why?"

"To train Gladholion, of course!"

"Seriously, a stable girl? I thought only the Riders trained the horses."

"Well, she offered to train him and I am sure she will let me participate much more than the Riders anyway. Well, I must be of; I have a whole book to finish. Good day to you all."

Legolas heard good days being mumbled around the table as he left. He went straight for his room, folded up on the right page and sat down to read in his favourite green armchair.

Mudolwen was planning to train Gladholion during lunch break. This meant no eating for her part, but she could just eat later if she had nothing to do.

"Fat chance," she mumbled as she led Carnil back into his stall. She had not told any of the riders, not even Turgon about her deal with the Prince, knowing that they would like to take over the training. Something they could actually do, if the Prince did not insist on her doing it. Knowing he would never do that, she hoped she would impress him today with her way with horses. As long as she stayed focused on Gladholion and not on impressing the Prince she knew she would succeed.

Just now, she was finishing the last horse to be groomed. She put the brushes and all the other things she had used such as halters back where it belonged. She and Turgon had finished on the wagon just as the riders had started arriving, so now many of the horses were outside being trained and some were on their way out, some on their way in.

Her job this time of day was to saddle up the horses of the royals that would come for a ride. Just at this day, only the two grown children of the brother of the Queen came, but she noticed them staring at her more than usual. After she had given them their horses and seen them of, she was sick of their laughter and whispering, so when she laid the brushes back in place, she might have laid them a bit hard. Alright, she threw them in the wall. Turgon walked in to the equipment room just as she did this.

"Ey, what is wrong with you? Stop making such a racket!" he scolded. She sighed and picked up the brushes.

"Sorry, I did not mean to."

"Is something the matter that needs my attention?" he enquired.

"Some of the royals laughed of me again. That has not happened in a long time now."

"Did you do something wrong?" She put the brushes back in the basket then turned towards him.

"No, I did not." The first weeks she had been here she had been so nervous around the royals that she had done many silly mistakes. Like saddling up the wrong horse, forgetting to take down the stirrups for them and not holding the horse till they were safe upon it. This was because she was not used to the manners of the royals, for it was much different from the public stable. But that had changed, the year she had spent here had managed to get her used to it, and now she was not even nervous to do mistakes when the king asked for his horse to be sent up to the palace.

"They just laughed?" he asked, a smile starting to form on his face

"Mainly, yes," she answered, sounding as if she were to give up.

"Well, I can see why." Now her face was a big frown, for his tone was to unserious

"Why? Do I have something in my face or?" The elf started laughing. "What Turgon?"

"Your looks are laughable, it is just that." she put her head in her hands, why was he never serious when she wanted him to be?

"Please stop the joking; I am not in the mood."

"Oh, but I am."

"You should not be."

"I am the one telling you what to do, remember?"

"Yes, Turgon. Now will you tell me why they laughed?"

"Actually, I don't know, they must be insane." Then he walked out of the door, only to reappear a few seconds later. "And by the way, did Gladholion run of last night?" Now he was back to horse-mode, meaning serious-mode.

"Yes, he did." And at that moment she remembered some horse manure in the middle of a garden. "Oh no," she groaned.

"What?" Turgon was busy taking down the saddle and the bridle of the next horse he was to train.

"Nothing, I just forgot something that I have to go and do." She walked past him, "And don't worry, it is work."

"Ok, but be back in quarter. I need you to start painting the wagon."

"Fine."

Mudolwen picked up a spade and put it in a trolley and made her way towards the gardens. She hoped that there would not be too many people there. Her wish was granted. There were only a few seated on the benches and others walking past her, not even wasting a look on her.

When she came to the place where the "incidence" had taken place and started to remove the manure with her own footprint in, it was the time two of the royal ladies decided to walk by. This caused them to have to lift their skirts up high and dramatically jumping over that part of the road, even if they easily could have walked next to it. Mudolwen stepped aside as they passed, and also these royals looked at her and laughed, whispering things as they walked away.

"There must have been some disease that makes you laugh because of stable girls raging up at the palace," she thought as she walked back to the waiting wagon.

OOO

Legolas had skimmed through the whole book now. He only remembered half of it, but Mudolwen could not say that he had not read it. He had gotten the main points and knew more or less what Mudolwen was to try to do today. She would first make the animal except that she was the boss and in that case make the horse trust her. He sat out on the balcony now trying to remember all she had said to him the previous night. Just then there was a nock on his door.

"Come in!" he called. His mother, Queen Rísithil, walked in.

"Naneth, what are you doing here?" She never came to see him like this. Well, at least she had not done so since his early childhood.

"Just wanted to talk to my only child, is that also wrong now?"

"No, I am just surprised to see you that is all. Come and sit," he went to meet her and pulled out a chair for her and then sat back down in his own, facing her.

"It is so good to have you home, Legolas," she said.

"You must have said that about a thousand times on these seven days, you are aware of that?"

"Yes, but it is only because we missed you so. Now, I want to talk to you about a matter that becomes more pressing and you can not avoid it much longer."

"The marriage part I guess." Legolas stared down at the page in the book as he spoke.

"Yes. I was wondering, because I have not asked you in a long time, but, eh, how to put this...?"

"You are wondering if I-"

"Yes. Fitting company."

"No, I have not company, Naneth. I know I used too, but it did not work out."

"Did you see no ladies in Rivendell or Lothlorien that fitted?"

"Naneth, those were times of war, and I had no time to think about matters of the heart."

"So on this year that you have been away, there has been no one?"

"The closest I have been to a she-elf this last year is the stable girl I slept at tonight. So no, there has been no one."

"Closest! Legolas are you saying that you are...seeing a stable girl!"

"No, of course not! For the sake of the Valar, it was just a way of saying that I have not," at this he felt pretty embarrassed, "had any intimacy with anyone. In a long time…" The embarrassing silence that developed showed just how unusual this sort of conversation was in the royal families.

"I see. Well, you still have time before your father will have to do something about the matter." At this, when she saw the angry look forming on her son's face, there was a sudden change of subject. "Excuse me for being so curious, but what did you and that stable girl talk about?"

"Horses mostly. She borrowed me these books too, to help me train Gladholion." He motioned for the books lying on his desk. The Queen got up and read the titles out loud.

"And I expect you to have thanked her for this? This is her private property." Legolas made a face to his mothers back. When he did not answer she turned.

"You did not thank her?" Oh, Legolas knew he was in trouble.

"No."

"Did you thank her for your stay then?" Yes, Naneth was going to be angry.

"No."

"Have I never taught you any manners?" her voice was strict and her eyebrows knitted.

"Yes, but I simply forgot. It is just a servant."

"She is a servant yes, but not when not at work. Then she is a person with her own life."

"I will say thank you when I see her! Naneth, I am sorry," he got up and walked toward her.

"I hope this was not the way you treated the peoples of Middle-Earth on your journey. They do not think of the Mirkwood elves as arrogant and impolite now, do they?"

"I swear they do not. Now I have to go and meet Mudolwen, I will not have her waiting for me, making me more impolite than I already am."

"That is the way, Legolas, but remember, she is now your servant. Still I want you to find her a gift as a thank you for your stay, but give her it when she is of duty. We must think of our reputation, you know."

"As you wish Naneth. Now I have to dress, so if you will excuse me."

"Good luck with the training, Ion. Good day." His mother left.

Legolas quickly undressed and put on breeches and tunic. He felt better immediately. Then it was the present. He had no time to buy anything, so he just had to take something from his room.

A book? No she seemed to have enough of those. A piece of jewellery was too much. Ah, he knew it, a quill! He had been given so many through the years, with different houses emblem engraved. He looked through the drawers till he found one from King Eomer of Rohan. It had horse motives and the sun engraved.

"Fits perfectly," he thought and with that in his hands he walked through the gardens and over to the stables.

OOO

**A/N: **At first I had thought that this chapter would have the first training in it, but it turned out with much more "stuff" than I had expected and it seemed right to cut it here. The training comes in the next chapter don't worry. Next, here come the names and meanings on some of the characters.

Mudolwen: working maiden

Nimpien: pale white (the queen's horse).

Turgon: commander of power

Serondrych: lover of horses (Stable master).

Carnil: name of the planet Mars in Quenya. The horse is called so because he is red (Mars is red, just if you did not know that, something I am sure you did).

Idhreneth: thoughtful maiden (friend in Valinor).

Gelir: happy person (Legolas cousin).

Last, but not least, there is some sindarin (elvish) in here. Ada(r) means father, Naneth means mother, Ion means son.

I had never thought anyone would review this little fantasy mumbo jumbo of mine, but hey, some even come back to read more. Then another thing, yes, they do have watches in Middle-Earth. I don't mean like hand watches, but big things (clocks) that stand into a wall or on a mantelpiece. Tolkien says that Bilbo has a clock on the mantelpiece in The Hobbit, so let's agree with him, shall we? And also, yes, I know some of the chapters have names and some doesn't. That is just the way things are.

And then, I need your help. What are the covers that you put on a horse when it is cold in the winter or the horse is sweat (I know these are two totally different covers)? What is the name of that? I only know what all these horse things are in my native tongue, so I have a hard time finding out what they are in English. If YOU happen to know what for example the different parts of a bridle and a saddle is called, or the different brushes you use to brush a horse with etc, etc, please mail me! None of these words are in my dictionary so please help!

I start school next week and I am moving this weekend, so I have no idea when the next chapter is up. Just as you know, I will finish this gory story, no matter what. See you next time and please review. Sayonara.


	5. Chapter 5: First training

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings nor any of the names, characters, places, plots, or historical incidents that the genius J.R.R. Tolkien has come up with. But do try not to steal my plot, or my original characters. Ask nicely, and I might let you.**

**Wild Horse**

**Chapter V: First training.**

Mudolwen was waiting for Legolas by the main entrance when he came.

"I have already placed him in the corral, my prince. Just follow me." Legolas fell into steps behind her and felt slightly stupid about presenting her the pen.

'It can wait till after the session,' he thought. It could wait.

Now they could hear Gladholion's happy neighing and as they turned the corner Legolas spotted him cantering around in a round paddock. The corral was about 15 meters in diameter and was filled with fine gravel.

"Have you had the chance to read the book, my prince?" asked Mudolwen as they walked towards the corral.

"Yes, but the subject is still very fresh to my mind."

"But you caught the basic, I presume?" asked Mudolwen.

"Yes." Did she really expect him to understand at least three hundred pages in one reading? Really!

"You may start," he said instead. The she-elf opened the gate to the corral and stepped inside. With her she carried a long rope.

"Now," she said, "I will ask of you not to interrupt me, even if you do not understand everything. Any questions you may have can wait till later."

"Agreed."

"And would you please step away from the fence? I do not want anything to disturb him." Legolas did as she asked and found another fence to sit on some meters away. Then she began.

As far as Legolas knew, this was one of the most important parts of the training. It was called 'breaking', but it had nothing to do with violence. This was a battle of minds.

First of all, the stable girl had to make Gladholion run next to the fence, so that the horse ran in an even circle automatically. Glad didn't even do that willingly, for round upon round Mudolwen was constantly after him.

After that part Legolas had no idea of how the next exercise was to be performed in action. In the book it had said that that every horse was split into four main parts. He tried to recall the page to his mind.

'_Imagine splitting the horse into four symmetric parts, starting from the head to the tail. The other line runs straight behind the shoulder.'_

That was what it had said. And so, when you put pressure on these different parts, the horse would react in different ways from what part you put pressure on. If you were in front of the shoulder line, the horse would slow down, back away, or eventually turn from you. If you were behind, you would make it run faster for the horse would think you were chasing it, _'like any predator would.'_ And if you stood facing the shoulder, the horse would just go on and on and on in the same pace as it was going in, because you then put pressure on the whole animal.

So, if you stepped in front of that line, the horse would turn away from you and if you stepped behind it, the horse would run faster. This was the natural body language all horses used. The problem lay in making the horse understand that you also knew the language. He did not think that could be called an easy task, especially if the horse was Gladholion.

Gladholion was at the moment trotting in nice circles. He had not tried anything for two rounds now, so he seemed to have learnt what to do. Mudolwen was standing in the neutral zone, but then she stepped out of it and was in front of the horse. Gladholion kept running. Mudolwen ran closer, but still no reaction. She waved her arms and yelled. No reaction. Then she took the rope and threw it into the stallion's front legs. At that, Gladholion span around on his hindquarters, thus turning with his head pointing towards Mudolwen, before he ran in the opposite direction. But this was only the beginning.

The turning didn't seem to have impressed Mudolwen, for she ran after the horse, while collecting the rope. She calmed the horse down, by letting him run in even circles, before she stepped in front of the neutral zone again, and in front of the horse. Gladholion sped up immediately. Mudolwen ran closer, but also this time she had to throw the rope to make him turn. This repeated itself until one of the times, when Gladholion suddenly turned inwards, instead of outwards as he had done the previous times.

"Good boy, good boy," Mudolwen said as she let Glad have a small pause. Again, she chased him forward, stepped in front and again, he turned inwards. But she still had to throw the rope.

After a good twenty minutes, when Legolas' bum was feeling quite sore from sitting on the fence, he noticed that Mudolwen only had to put one foot over the neutral line, and Glad would turn without the slightest protest. The one of Glad's ear that was turned towards her seemed to listen to every sound she made. How could this be? That horse had run her down only yesterday!

Mudolwen made Gladholion slow down before she walked out of the corral to join Legolas. He was about to praise her for the excellent work when she suddenly put her whole head into the water bucket placed near the entrance. Chocking on his words Legolas could do nothing but watch as she drank some of the water, before pouring out half and putting it into the corral so that Gladholion could have a good drink.

Both the horse and the stable girl was showered in mud; the corral had been filled with many small ponds after the rain last night. Mudolwen looked at the prince silently, catching the curious look he sent the bucket.

"I do not want him drinking too much during training," she explained. "It can cause colic."

"Oh, right."

"Any questions so far?"

"I have as many questions as there are leaves on the trees," said Legolas, making Mudolwen smile. "But tell me, why do you take away the pressure? If you did not take it away he would only do it faster, would he not?" Why do you put your head in water buckets?

"First, the pressure is not there to make him do things quicker. It is there to say "you have to do something, because I don't want you to stay where you are." Then the horse tries different things, and each time he does the wrong thing I do not take away the pressure. But when he does the right thing, I take it all away. Then the horse thinks "Oh, is that all I have to do?" To the horse it is a relief to be rid of the pressure, therefore it is used as a reward. Each time I try to make him turn, or do anything else, I start with the smallest amount of pressure possible. In the end he will then react if I so much as raise my little finger."

"Oh," said Legolas, who had been able to process about half of that information before his brain came to a dead end. "I understand…some of it."

"It will come, my prince, I promise. Now I will go in and repeat the process, after giving him this time to think, and then continue until he surrenders."

"Surrenders?" asked Legolas.

"Until he accepts that I am his Master, we call that to surrender," she answered as she took out the bucket Glad had emptied.

Now it only took a number of five turns before Glad did turns as if it was the only thing he had done his whole life. Then came the hard part, Legolas could not explain it, be it to save his life. Somehow she had to drag Gladholion out of the circle and make him pass over the centre of the circle (only the Valar knew for what reason) and without any help from a rope, the only thing she was to use was the much discussed pressure.

Mudolwen knew what it was all about however. The horse had to be so focused on her the first time that he followed without thinking about it. When he had crossed the circle she had to get back in to the middle, putting pressure on his hind quarters to that he turned in towards her where she would be waiting with open arms.

By a miracle or not, Glad trotted over the first time she tried. They practised that bit for a while, taking a few normal turns in between.

Then came the signs she had waited for. Gladholion dropped his large proud head a little lower than normal and started licking his lips. Fast as lightning Mudolwen did and extract turn, as it was named. Gladholion trotted over and before he knew it himself he was facing Mudolwen who stood in the middle of the circle. Her shoulders were let down, her arms were open and she had dropped her rope.

"Come here," her whole being seemed to utter and Gladholion did just that. One step became two, two became three. He softly shoved his muzzle against one of her hands. Her hand reached up to scratch his forehead in slow precise movements.

"Good boy," she muttered in his ear as she stroked his whole head, even made him close his eyelids. And so she continued over his whole body. When she came to areas where he didn't liked to be touched she went back to a safe area and stroked him there and then tried at the unsafe area again, repeating this process to she could touch him everywhere; under his tail, between his ears.

She ended up by Gladholion's head again. Snapping her fingers she immediately had the horse's attention. Taking a step forward while clicking her tongue; Legolas watched hypnotized as the horse followed her. No ropes, no nothing! The horse was following her of its own free will!

Right then Mudolwen felt as if she was smiling from somewhere deep inside her. She looked into Glad's big black eyes.

"You are an intelligent young man," she whispered into his ear as she combed her fingers through his mane. The rope she had thrown down lay at her feet and she picked it up, making a halter out of it with a few knots. She slipped it on the horse and headed for the gate. Glad followed her without even the smallest snort.

Legolas opened the gate for them, not realising he had done a servant a favour before the moment was gone.

"He needs walk with to cool down, my prince," said Mudolwen, "and I still have a quarter of an hour before I need to get back to my work."

"Let us go then," said Legolas. "What you achieved in such short space of time was completely… astonishing. I could not take my eyes of what was happening." He had in fact forgotten all about his bottom being little sore.

"You should come and see when Serondrych works; he is truly brilliant!" said Mudolwen enthusiastically. "I think he is breaking some of the one year olds next week."

"Is it like that every time? That the horses seem to change before our very eyes?"

"No, it is not like this with the horses that has been trained her in Mirkwood way since the day they were born. But some of them still put up quite a show. I am actually surprised that Gladholion took it so fast, my Prince, I had counted on that he would at least fend me off until tomorrow. He is more sensitive than I believed."

"If you say so," agreed Legolas.

They continued to walk in silence through the forest, all three lost in thought. The path they took was one created especially for this purpose, cooling down horses after training, and it lead right to the courtyard in front of the main entrance to the stable.

As the door opening came into view Legolas heard Mudolwen utter a none too mild curse. Looking ahead his eyes came upon Turgon, who was looking straight at them, with a less than pleasant look on his face.

A/N: So how long has it been since I updated? Years? Yes, something like that actually. Sorry… There are many excuses and I bet you have all heard them before, so I will not mention them here. All I want to say is this; do not for a second think that I put this story on hold on purpose. Just let us agree that life has surprises for us all.


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